Recently, however, the Reentry Council of San Francisco - made up of representatives of the mayor's office, the Police Department, the district attorney's office, the Sheriff's Department, the Adult Probation Department and ex-convicts - adopted a resolution urging the city to apply the special status to the private sector as well.

Janan New of the San Francisco Apartment Association condemned the idea, saying state and federal law already prohibits landlords from "arbitrarily discriminating" against applicants.

"When somebody comes to rent housing, we have the ability ... to screen someone based only on the ability to pay rent," New said.

Now, by creating a newly protected class of citizens, New fears the city will unfairly open the door to "where people can litigate because they say, 'You're discriminating because I'm an ex-felon.' "

"Trust me - I recognize the concern," said District Attorney and former Police Chief George Gascón, who backs the plan. "But if we want to reduce the likelihood of people going back to prison, then we have to provide them with an opportunity to reintegrate themselves."

Last chance: After a last-ditch meeting that went nowhere, it's game on for the big pension reform fight.

"We're going to take it all the way to the finish line," Public Defender Jeff Adachi said after his Monday afternoon sit-down with Supervisor Sean Elsberndand union leaders went south.

Adachi's price for keeping his plan off the ballot was a "safety valve" that he wanted inserted into City Hall's proposal. Under it, city workers would contribute more to their pensions than they have already agreed to if the stock market fails to perform to projections.

The idea was pretty much a nonstarter.

With that, Adachi went over to City Hall and submitted 72,640 signatures to qualify his measure for the November ballot.

Headed east: A delegation of state and regional transit officials jetted over to Shanghai for a $200,000 celebration of the final fabrication of the new Bay Bridge eastern span.

Workers at Shanghai Zhenhua Heavy Industries Co. were still putting some final touches this week on sections of the $6.3 billion span, wrapping up five years of outsourced - and sometimes troubled - bridge production.

Over the weekend, bridge contractors led by American Bridge-Fluor hosted a giant hamburger and hot dog barbecue for hundreds of Chinese workers at the main plant.

Contractors picked up a $150,000 tab for this and other parties - thanks, no doubt, to your toll bridge dollars.

The Bay Area Toll Authority footed a $50,000 party bill, plus an estimated $22,500 for flights and hotels for seven of its commission and staff members - plus two California Transportation Commission reps - to attend.

Caltrans, which has had as many as 65 workers in China for the past five years, insists nobody made a special trip from Sacramento just for the celebration.

On a lighter note, Peter Sagal, host of NPR's "Wait, Wait ... Don't Tell Me," is speaking on "Lord Rochester's Joke and the Flaw in Bohemia."

One tell-tale sign of the secretive July 14-31 gathering will be the stream of private jets landing at Santa Rosa Airport, and the procession of black limousines shuttling big-shot CEOs to the 2,700-acre redwood forest encampment along the Russian River.

Chronicle columnists Phillip Matier and Andrew Ross appear Sundays, Mondays and Wednesdays. Matier can be seen on the KPIX-TV morning and evening news. He can also be heard on KCBS radio Monday through Friday at 7:50 a.m. and 5:50 p.m. Got a tip? Call (415) 777-8815, or e-mail matierandross@sfchronicle.com.